Anyone tried the ExpertWifi routers yet? EBR63, EBM68

[Rutabega]

And why you want the most unpopular one from Asus? Access points with native VLAN support are available for under $100, multiple brands and shapes.

I'm already in an Asus AIMesh environment, so I figured sticking with an Asus AP would be path of least resistance

 

[Tech9]

It’s like paying more for unused features and increasing the number of devices you don’t really need. At some point the cost will exceed few true APs along with PoE switch and network controller.

 

[tiddlywink]

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[tiddlywink]

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[takalti]

I am running expertwifi with a DSL-AX82u as a node (hard wired). Happy to test with what I have if I can help. I can confirm:
Stability - good. havent noticed any issues (even using smartconnect across tri-band). Only thing I dont use is auto-reboot as it sometimes drops the connection to the net (its FTTN using PPPOE)
The node (in this case the AX82U) does transmit all my self defined network (SDN) and honour the VLAN I have on my SDN guest network

I do plan to add a second EBM68 and maybe change to a full expertwifi setup; but hoping that ASUS release a non-wifi router with 2.5g WAN and LAN ports (or faster). I am not overly thrilled with the specs of the EBG15.

 

[takalti]

SDN setup. Note that it doesnt ever show the "main" SSID on this screen, only the add-on networks. I have wifi specified only for them but could in theory use vlan seperation mapped to ports of the router itself or using one of the expertwifi managed switches.

 

[jmpr]

Very interested in question #1. Getting wired ExpertWiFi EBG15 this week. EBA63 does what you want, so I imagine the EBM68 and EBR63 will work in AP mode that way as well. I may be purchasing EBR63 to act as AImesh nodes.

ASUS ExpertWiFi EBA63｜Business Network Solutions｜ASUS Global

Dual Band WiFi 6 PoE Access Point, seamless roaming, support up to 5 SSIDs and VLAN, 100+ devices, easy management app, powered by PoE or AC adapter

www.asus.com

3 year warranty should mean 3 years of support. I do remember reading that asus is committed to the "expertwifi" line with new hardware already planned.

That means little. I read that as, that they can take up to 3 years to fix the 'software', and afterward declare it EOL.

Doing something willingly isn't the same result as being forced to do something by some arbitrary law.

My old N55U_D1 still has updates

after 11 years

DSL-N55U D1 - Support

www.asus.com

Most are security fixes, but for about 6 years there were improvements too. I do not understand why some devices are EOL too soon compared to others.

 

[tiddlywink]

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[Jarp]

Did you ever figure out whether the EBR63 supports VLANs while in AP Mode? I have the exact situation (PFSense routing. I just need a wireless AP).

Just got my ERB63. Yes it supports VLANs in AP mode (I have openwrt router so similar use case).

 

[Mr Tvardovsky]

I am running expertwifi with a DSL-AX82u as a node (hard wired). Happy to test with what I have if I can help. I can confirm:
Stability - good. havent noticed any issues (even using smartconnect across tri-band). Only thing I dont use is auto-reboot as it sometimes drops the connection to the net (its FTTN using PPPOE)
The node (in this case the AX82U) does transmit all my self defined network (SDN) and honour the VLAN I have on my SDN guest network

In case somebody discovers this thread looking for information regarding current compatibility of EBM68 with other Asus devices, this info may be useful: I achieved the same result with EBM68 set as the AiMesh router in AP mode and 2 XT12s as AiMesh nodes. All the devices on their respective latest firmwares. EBM68 picks up the VLANs defined on my main wired (non-ASUS) router. The nodes transmit VLAN networks both with wired and wireless backhauls. Granted, this compatibility is not guaranteed to stay in place forever, but at the moment seems to be there.

When setting up a completely new system I would probably go with a wired router + smart switches + wireless APs (like UniFi or similar). But I guess there is more of us trying to get the most out of the various hardware that we already own and curious what's possible

 

[jzchen]

I recently replaced my TP-Link Deco BE95 with an EBG15 as primary router. My previous setup involved two APs with AiMesh: GT-BE98 Pro with BQ16 Pro and RT-BE92U as nodes; GT-AXE16000 with RT-AX86U and RT-AX5400 as nodes. I had split them because running the GT-BE98 Pro as router or AP (with AiMesh) 5 GHz-2 on the GT-AXE16000 was unusable. I could not configure it nor connect to whatever SSID it broadcast, (something really really long IIRC). The reasoning I had was that this purely Ethernet (and Bluetooth) router would hopefully give me access to both 5 GHz-2 and 6 GHz-2 under one AiMesh.

My 6 GHz is greatly derated, but work. For example I can place my phone in the middle of the antennae on the GT-BE98 Pro, use my WiFi Analyzer app, get a reading of single digit dBm for 2.4 GHz, IIRC -6, while the 6GHz are -31 and -32 dBm....